Turnaround
by FelsGoddess
Summary: There comes a time when you have to decide what is really important. Jaina/Jag Valentine's Day one-shot


Title: Turnaround  
Author: FelsGoddess  
TImeframe: Post- LotF  
Characters: Jaina, Jag  
Genre: Valentine's Day  
Keywords: fic gift, Jaina, Jag  
Summary: There comes a time when you have to decide what is really important.  
Notes: Valentine's Day Fic-gift Exchange for Jade_eyes.

She wanted:

1. A slight misunderstanding  
2. An exchange of comm messages  
3. Mushy clearing the air

What I do not want: anyone hurt or dying

Sweat dripped down Jagged Fel's sculpted torso as he ran through the forest. Beads of perspiration rolled down the sides of his face, dripping onto his muscular shoulders and arms. Specks of mud splashed onto the bottoms of his pants as his feet briefly sank into one of the many mud slicks covering the ground. A gust of cold air provided a brief, but welcomed, chill to his skin as he wound his way towards the building he called home.

Jag was frustrated. That was why he went out running. He'd hoped the physical exertion would take his mind off what was bothering him. He should have known better.  
He entered through the side door, barely noticing the two guards flanking the entrance. His security detail hated it when he ran. This, of course, made it more appealing. They claimed it was an unnecessary risk. He didn't care. It was a bigger risk forcing him to stay inside and stew for hours. He didn't bother to turn on the lights as he entered his quarters. There was enough illumination from the thick windows for him to see. He wound his way to the kitchen, pour a glass of water and drank it. As he set the glass on the counter, he could see a red light on the comm unit blinking out of the corner of his eye. He walked over and scanned the messages. Most were irrelevant; problems he would deal with in the morning. The only one that caught his eye was the one from Jaina Solo.

He mentally braced himself as he opened it. It was all text, as he'd been expecting. Jaina was on yet another mission for the Jedi Council. She was somewhere in the Outer Rim. It was a last minute assignment. She'd planned to spend the week with him. When she had called that morning, clearly agitated, he knew she was canceling. It didn't make him feel much better that she seemed as upset about it as he was.

He was being petty. He knew that, but he couldn't help it. As long as no one was around to see, it he allowed himself the brief period of melancholy. Sometimes he felt like he should take a cue from Han Solo and take Jaina somewhere to hide for while.

Jag scanned her message. It was short; an apology that she couldn't make it and reassurance that she would see him soon. He didn't send her a reply. He was going to clean up first. He switched off the comm and went down the hallway to his bedroom. The room was immaculate, like the other rooms in his quarters. He slipped into the large bathroom and turned on the shower. Within minutes, the water was hot enough for him to step inside the spray. He adjusted the showerhead to a massaging spray. The water worked the knots out of his muscular back.

It'd been a difficult week. On top of his normal duties, one of the Moffs had been assassinated in his home. The Council split itself on whom the replacement should be. A formal investigation hadn't found the killer yet, but they had leads. There had been an accident at one of the major shipyards, halting the construction on his new flagship. At the moment, neither situation were linked. All of that, coupled with the last minute mission the Jedi sent Jaina, wore him down. He was simply done with the day.

He stepped out of the shower a few minutes later. He wiped some of the fog off the mirror. His hair hung too long. It didn't look as bad when he was dry. He would have to make time to cut it within the next day or two. He ran his hand over the stubble on his jaw. He'd shave it in the morning.

Jag went over to the comm unit in his room after he dressed. He punched in Jaina's code and sent her a brief response. He flipped on the holo, found a smashball game and let his mind wander.

The close confines of Jaina's StealthX cockpit was both welcome and constricting. She'd just finished placing her call to the Jedi Council. They wanted her to go to Tatooine to investigate an ambassador's disappearance. It was an assignment virtually anyone could do. She was convinced that they asked her to do it because she called at the wrong time. She had declined it, however, stating she had something much more important to take care of.

Once again, the Jedi Council's demands had disrupted her personal life. She was tired of it. Not only had she canceled on Jag far too many times, but also with her parents and niece. Enough was enough.

Jaina pulled up the last message she'd received from Jag. His frustration and weariness was obvious despite his attempts to hide it. She knew about the assassination and the stressed it had added onto his normal workload. She hadn't heard from him for two days, which wasn't surprising. She hadn't responded to his yet.

Her response was going to be more personal, she decided. There was only so much one could say in a message. She pulled back on the hyperspace lever and closed her eyes. She was tired, and sleep would make the journey faster.

Jag grimaced as lightning cut through the sky as he slipped through his door. He was soaked from both rain and sweat. The downpour began about halfway through his run. The lightning began when he was about five minutes from the complex.

He hurried into the bedroom, eager to shower and change out of his wet pants. He'd already deposited his wet shoes by the front door. He flipped on the light and paused in surprise.

"When did you arrive?"

Jaina smiled at him from her seat on the bed. A glance to the right revealed a rumpled flight suit slung over a chair. There was an open bag on the floor and her hair was wet. She was wearing a pair of black pants and a red sleeveless top. She leaned back on her hands as she responded, "About 30 minutes ago."

Jaina shifted so she sat at the edge of the bed. Jag stepped closer to her, but before he could lean down to kiss her, she pressed a hand to the middle of his chest. "Hold on, flyboy, you are covered in mud and what looks like part of a bush."

Jag glanced down at himself. Mud was scraped along his side and on his pants. There was a hole in the right pants leg where it had caught on a thorny bush. A couple leaves were sticking out of it. He smirked at her, and then leaned down to kiss her forehead. "My apologies."

He then turned to go into the bathroom. As he threw the leaves away, he called out, "The council didn't need you for anything else?"

"They did, but I decided it wasn't important."

Jag paused in surprise. He didn't know what to say, to put it bluntly. A slow grin began to spread across his face as a thought entered his mind. He asked, "What did they say about that?"

"Oh, they weren't too happy about it, but there's nothing they can do," she said. She appeared in the doorway. Her eyes drifted up and down his exposed chest. "Hurry up. I'll explain it later."

He nodded as she left the room. He was more than willing to do as she asked.

Jaina sat back down on the bed after she'd left Jag to clean up. One of the security guards told her that he was out running. After cleaning up, she decided she would just wait for him in his room.

A few minutes later, Jag exited the bathroom wearing only a pair of sleep pants. They hung low on his narrow hips. He was rubbing his hair with a towel when he asked, "What happened with the Jedi?"

Jaina pursed her lips in thought, and then explained, "There was some sort of misunderstanding, nothing remotely interesting. They sent me to clear it up. After I finished, the Council wanted me to go to Tatooine. The ambassador from Tanaab disappeared there."

"What was he doing on Tatooine?" Jag asked as he moved to sit behind her. His arms wrapped around her waist as he placed a kiss on the side of her neck.

"Probably something illegal. Anyway, I told the Council I couldn't do it," she said with a shake of her head. She turned around to face him, "I'm tired of being their pawn. You needed me this week and I choose the Jedi over you once again. I am so sorry."

"It's okay, Jaina," Jag responded. He began trailing kisses from her earlobe and down her neck. He tugged the collar of her shirt down so he could move from her neck to her collarbone.

"No, it's not," she shot back. She placed her hands on either side of his face, stopping his ministrations. "I took you for granted before, and I am not doing it again."

Jaina pressed her lips against Jag's. She ran her fingernails over his shoulders to his chest, pressing her palms flat. She didn't know how he managed to find the time to stay in perfect physical shape. She leaned back and began to speak again, "I'm staying here for awhile. The Council will- You are making this really difficult, you know!"

Jag gave her smirk as he lifted his head from her shoulder, "Do you want me to stop?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. It never ceased to amaze her how he could make her want to smack him and kiss him at the same time.

"Turn around," he said gently. She twisted around so her back was facing him. He pulled her shirt up and began kneading the knots out of her back. "The Council will what?"

"Have to get over it," Jaina mumbled. His fingers trailed along her spine. She moved so she was lying on her stomach as she continued, "Did you find anything out about- mmm."

Jaina pressed her face into the blanket on the bed. Jag had replaced his hands with his lips. She bit her lip for a moment, trying to focus on what she'd been talking about. It was no use though, not when he kept doing that, she thought. Warmth traveled from deep inside her and traveled through her limbs to her fingertips.

She rolled over slowly, not really wanted to stop him, "I'm trying to apologize."

Jag shook his head in slight amusement at her stubbornness. "Fine, apology accepted."

Jaina's eyes raked up and down him, from his pale green eyes, his strong jaw, his sculpted chest and further. She decided she was finished talking. She snatched his hand and pulled her down to him…


End file.
